Moira Taylor

            “There are many different ideas about what alcoholism really is. The explanation that seems to make sense is that alcoholism is a progressive illness, which can never be cured but which can be arrested.  Many feel that the illness that represents the combination of a physical sensitivity to alcohol and a mental obsession with drinking, which, regardless of consequences, cannot be broken by willpower alone.”

                                           -excerpt from the A.A. website

An alcoholic is a person who suffers from a disorder characterized by the excessive consumption of and dependence on alcoholic beverages, leading to physical and psychological impairment.  Substance abuse, a certainly selfish and foolish sickness, is found in people who are seriously ill both mentally and physically. 

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) shows through their National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) that the numbers of adults who abuse alcohol or are alcohol dependent have raised from 13.8 million to 17.6 million in the course of ten years.  Alcohol abuse can be characterized by the failure of fulfilling roles in work, social, or school settings where alcohol dependence can be found in people who are compulsive drinkers or have learned to tolerate alcohol and withdrawal symptoms.  These poor pitiful people with their addiction to alcohol become more than alcoholics or drunks: they become “slaves.”  Slaves to their mind, slaves to their body, and slaves to their need for alcohol.

Who are these unfortunate slaves that are dictated by this menacing sickness?  This silent disease that creeps unsuspectingly?

These are the people that you see everyday.  Their appearance being only a façade that masks the unknown truth. The range of people that call themselves alcoholics is extensive.  It may be the pregnant woman who sits beside you on the bus; the teenager that loves to skip class; or even, most importantly, the last person that you would have least expected.  There is no cookie cutter mold that drunks fit into.

Rev. Glen Williams, the director of Way2Hope.org, says that “alcoholism transcends social, financial, and racial differences.”  Though alcoholics have vastly different backgrounds, similarities can be found and connected in each story.  What are also similar are the effects that alcohol usage may have on oneself.  Side effects that alcohol may cause can be very hazardous.  They cover areas from loss of weight, memory, and hair to embarrassment, casual sex, and an addiction to alcohol.  Fatalities that are related with alcohol are Cirrhosis which leads to liver failure, heart failure, and an accumulation of excessive fluid in the substance of the brain which is known as a “wet brain.” 

Do you have relatives who are slaves to alcohol?  Do they understand that alcohol is their master?  Why do people turn to this substance to reassure themselves?  Are their consequences of their actions fully understood?  Will or can they ever be cured of their never ending sickness?  Or will they live their lives under the influence of sinful beverages?

Alcoholics rationalize, justify, and minimize their problem.  They can not control their drinking, their disease is progressive, and there is no other cure but to only not take that first drink.  Robert Burton stated, “Diseases [insert “alcoholism,” insert “substance abuse”] crucify the soul of man [insert “slave”], attenuate our bodies, dry them, wither them, and shrivel them up like old apples.”  To help cure these types of problems there are recovery programs such as Rational Recovery, SMART Recovery, Secular Organizations for Sobriety, and the well known Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.).

His name is Jeffrey, and yes, he is an alcoholic.  It was on 3^rd Avenue in New York City at two o’clock in the morning during one of his many drunken stupors when he came to this shattering conclusion.  A divorced and remarried father of two that had drinking habits that qualified him as a high risk drinker.

In 1951 he was born into a Jewish family that lived in the suburbs of New Jersey.  Jeffrey’s father held a high position on Wall Street while his mother was a stay at home wife.  It is important to know that the family did not getting along very well.  His father, Howard, and his mother, Sandra, were constantly disagreeing with one another and fighting over the smallest problems.  As a result of the lack of attention received, he never felt that he was ever truly loved or appreciated by his family.

His first experience with alcohol was after he broke into his father’s liquor cabinet at the tender age of twelve.  He doesn’t remember the first events that impacted forty years of his life.  It is imperative to him that he remembers those critical moments because if he doesn’t he feels that he will probably just die a drunk.

From his teenage years to fraternity life while attending college, alcohol was always a main element in his surroundings.  Until the age of fifty two, alcohol was his dictator.  At this time he found the A.A. website that saved his life mentally, physically, and spiritually.  He realized that he was an alcoholic but after attending meetings he fell into the sandpit of denial.  A somewhat successful business man with his own company wasn’t or couldn’t be considered an alcoholic.

His recovery has been a rollercoaster ride of emotion full of highs, lows, twists and turns.  Improvement has been shown by the celebration of his one year sober achievement; the release of his second book about the road to his recovery, and the start of an internet radio show about alcoholism.  Jeffrey’s courage through these demanding times has influenced not only the many people who share the same dilemma, but has also encouraged these people to do something great with the knowledge of their sickness.  Jeffrey Taylor is my father, and yes, he is an alcoholic.